


Don't (But I Can)

by carolion



Category: American Idol RPF
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-09-27
Updated: 2011-09-27
Packaged: 2017-10-24 02:17:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 900
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/257781
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/carolion/pseuds/carolion
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Neal has a policy.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Don't (But I Can)

Neal has a policy. He doesn't hit on teenagers. Legal or not, it's just kind of creepy for someone his age to be perving on people who can't even order him a beer or drive a rental car. But Archuleta is twenty today, officially out of the teenage stage, and suddenly Neal is finding it very difficult not to call him up and offer to take him out.

But Neal has another policy that _should_ put the brakes on the whole 'Archuleta' thing: he doesn't hit on people who have spent the better part of two years pining for David Cook.

Actually - he doesn't hit on people who pine for David Cook, period. And ever since Neal met David Archuleta, he's thought it was obvious how big a crush the younger man had on Dave. Which hadn't really been a problem at first - in fact, it had been pretty amusing. 'Archie' followed Dave around like a puppy, and Dave _liked_ it, totally ate up the attention, and took the kid under his wing. Neal and Andy found it hilarious, consistently teasing their bandmate about his shadow.

But things change. And Archuleta isn't so bad. It may seem weird but he and Neal text, sort of. They'd exchanged phone numbers way back, just for pleasantries sake, and to be honest Neal had forgotten about it until early December, when he'd received an urgent text message.

 _'HELP!! dnt knw what 2 get cook 4 his bday. pls send ideas! thnx xx a'_

It was one of the most ridiculous texts Neal had ever received, and that was saying something since a lot of Neal's friends liked to get drunk and try texting him directions. Still, he had figured it couldn't hurt to help the kid out. He'd sent a few links to gadgets Dave had mentioned and hadn't thought about it again.

Needless to say he'd been surprised when a package arrived for _him_ on the twentieth. It wasn't a big box, but it was clearly labeled _Neal Tiemann_ in clean, if somewhat hurried script. There was a neatly folded piece of paper laying on top when he opened it, and despite wanting to know what he could have possibly gotten, he went ahead and read the letter first.

It was brief.

 _"Hi Neal, happy birthday! Why didn't you mention your birthday was coming up? Good thing I talked to Andy too, haha. I didn't know what to get you, but Andy said you don't like the cold. So I hope you get some use out of these, haha! If you don't like them you don't have to use them. Just give them to somebody who will I guess... Well I hope you have a great day! :) Don't let Cook work you too hard._

 _\- David Archuleta"_

The gift itself had been a pair of fingerless gloves. A little bulky, but they'd work, and Neal could even manage to play the guitar half-way decently in them.

So after that ... it was clear that Archuleta wasn't the average guy. And then Manila had happened and everything sort of took a turn for the more dangerous. 'Archie' had grown up a lot in a year - he was eighteen then, and Manila was good to him. Of course Archuleta and Dave were practically inseparable during the whole thing, it was _their_ concert, after all, but the whole experience was pretty heavy for all of them. The crowd was massive, and having Archuleta on stage with them for A Daily AntheM, hearing every person there sing along... It had been incredible. And Archie's face during the set, joyful and smiling and like nothing Neal had ever seen before - that was dangerous. Especially since after Manila, Neal was more convinced than ever that the younger David was still carrying a torch for _their_ Dave. So he just squashed those untimely (and totally inappropriate) feelings and moved on.

Besides, Archie had been a teenager, and Neal had a policy about hitting on teenagers: don't do it.

Now though, now... Neal will be the first to admit during the holidays he keeps Archuleta's Christmas CD in his car stereo rotation, and whenever he gets a text from him he can't help but grin a little at how clearly he can hear Archuleta's voice in his head. It's stupid, and Neal doesn't like how girly he's getting about it, how close he's come to actually following Archuleta on twitter (but he knows if he does he'll probably never put the damn thing down - Dave's forwarded a few of Archie's more 'priceless' tweets to Neal, and Neal just can't understand how some like David Archuleta even _exists_ ) and here he is, staring at his phone and actually debating on whether or not to man up and ask him out.

Two years is long time to pine for someone. (Neal would know.) Maybe Archuleta is ready to stop. (Neal is.)

He calls.

"Hey, David. It's Neal. Happy birthday! So, I was wondering, d'you wanna grab something to eat? To celebrate? I know you're busy, so just whenever. Just - uh, no - just you and me."

So what if it takes a week and half before Archuleta finally has a night off to go to dinner? So what if Dave teases him mercilessly, and so what if Neal ransacks his entire wardrobe three days before the night, looking for something to wear? He said _yes_.


End file.
